Difference between revisions of "426--Week 4 Questions/Comments--Thursday"
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'''Domestic Service''' I found the chapter on servants to be very interesting. Like Ashley, I was surprised by the amount of leverage immigrant Irish women had in setting their terms of service. Initially, I was also surprised that women would sometimes rather work in a factory then in a household. After reading all of the expectations a mistress had of her servants, in addition to being subjected to censure and moral judgment, I can see how being a servant, while a secure position, was often seen as less then desirable. --Sarah Gardner | '''Domestic Service''' I found the chapter on servants to be very interesting. Like Ashley, I was surprised by the amount of leverage immigrant Irish women had in setting their terms of service. Initially, I was also surprised that women would sometimes rather work in a factory then in a household. After reading all of the expectations a mistress had of her servants, in addition to being subjected to censure and moral judgment, I can see how being a servant, while a secure position, was often seen as less then desirable. --Sarah Gardner | ||
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| + | '''Marriage''' The nature of marriage among poor urban laborers was rather surprising to me. While I never thought it was without problems, I was amazed at the level, frequency, and relative acceptance of marital abuse that occurred in these poor neighborhoods. The role that the neighborhood played in settling these domestic disputes also surprised me. It is sad that at a time when women of the middle-classes were able to forge a new image demanding more respect as symbols of morality, their poorer counterparts were being beaten by their often drunken spouses for poor housework or indulging in drink themselves. I thought the double standard between the genders was really expressed in the interactions and expectations of married couples. --Sarah Gardner | ||
